ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) with interest in the development, empowerment, and prosperity of women in Africa has rolled out palliatives to women-headed households in select rural communities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos , Kaduna and Akwa Ibom states. ADEOLA TUKURU reports.
The total target beneficiaries are 300 in FCT, 250 in Kaduna , 200 in Lagos and 250 in Akwa Ibom state, a total of 1000 women headed households.
Efforts to cushion the effects of hunger
The gesture was part of the efforts to cushion the effects of hunger occasioned by the lockdown in Nigeria following the widespread of COVID-19 pandemic.
Other essence of the interventions is to reach the poor and vulnerable households in the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria is probable as the country with the highest population in Africa will need all hands on deck to see poor and excluded persons in isolation and who rely on daily earnings to put food on their table.
Mapping and assessment of benefiting communities
According to the Head of Programmes, ActionAid of Nigeria,Suweba Yakubu Jubril, who represented the Country Director, Ene Obi, explained that the mapping and assessment of benefiting communities was carried out to ensure that the most vulnerable in the communities are identified with the participation of community members in line with ActionAid Human Rights Based Approach.
She explained that a three -day assessment and selection of households was held across all locations and assessment will be done to determine the kind of food the community eat, data collection of information such as name , sex number of children and occupation.
She said the information will help them to determine the most vulnerable in the community as Female Representatives of selected households was given a tally.
She said each household will receive goods worth N9,000 to N12,000 depending on the cost of procuring the palliatives materials in the states as prices differ in each locations which was estimated at N11,046,000 ($30,500).
Pre-assessments
She further explained that a pre-assessments was done to identify community women and tally was given to the identified household before the distribution date.
| Some of the residents who spoke to Blueprint in Abuja said since the assurance to distribute palliatives by the Federal Government, they are yet to receive any palliatives. |
The Woman leader of the community, Zuhera Sale Gwalada in FCT who spoke on behalf of women in the community commended ActionAid for the palliatives, adding that it has been very difficult for them to feed their families due to the lockdown ordered by the president.
Finding it difficult to feed
She said even after the ease of the lockdown, they still find it difficult to feed because things are very expensive in the market.
Zuhera who spoke in pidgin English said some of the people in the community fall ill due to lack of food urging the Federal Government to come to their aide in assisting them with other basic infrastructure such as good Road, Electricity, Portable water, Schools and Hospitals.
Social distancing
Also, the community head of Tunga-Ashere, Sani Yakubu said his community was very grateful for receiving the aid, saying, the items received will go a long way in sustaining the beneficiaries as they continue to observe the social distancing and lockdown order of the Federal Government.
Palliatives are to complement govt efforts
The Progamme Advisor of Actionaid Nigeria’s Local Rights Programme, Hajara Opaluwa-Adamu said the palliatives are to complement the Nigerian government’s efforts to cushion the hardship, Nigerians, especially women have been subjected to in the past few weeks due to the outbreak.
She said Seventy-five households each from the communities benefitted from the gesture which adding that it also became necessary to augment the federal government’s palliatives earlier distributed to some communities.
The most vulnerable in the communities
In order to ensure that the most vulnerable in the communities were identified for the intervention with participation of the communities in line with Actionaid human rights based approach, she said that the selection of beneficiaries was collectively, carried out with stakeholders in the communities, during which tallies were given to the intending beneficiaries before the distribution dates.
Some of the criteria employed to ensure that the most vulnerable in the communities benefitted, she revealed, include, households with more than eight dependents, with four being under the age of 5, women headed households and households with terminally ill relatives.
Continuation of the school feeding programme
It was observed that the federal government rolled out several palliatives measures such as the continuation of the school feeding programme and the conditional cash transfer to vulnerable households.
With private individuals contribution their quota towards the misting the disease is curved and community transmission reduces and eventually stops.
The communities across Kaduna , Akwa-Ibom , Lagos and FCT were selected based on communities that haven’t received palliatives from the federal government and they are the farthest from the city centre which makes access to palliatives from government and philanthropist difficult for them.
Communities who benefited from the Lagos state are Wesere and Ivoji (Badagry LGA) which started on May 10 & 11, In FCT (Gwagwalada, Jiwa Tsofo, Tunga Ashere, Tunga Nasara in AMAC LG) started on May 7,8 and 9th.
Others are Kaduna (Pambawa , Rafin Kara, Kurmin Sata , Ungwa Mansara and Panzato communities across 2 LGAs-Igabi and Chikun, LGA) started on May 6th and 7th.
In Akwa-Ibom are Ikoy Umiang Ede, Ikot Unya , Ikot Mfon, Ndon Utim, Ikot Akama, across 3 LGA-Etinan, Oruk Anam and Mkpat Enin started May 13th and 14th, 2020.
Lagos palliatives
Palliatives distributed in Lagos was 5kg of Rice, 5kg of Beans , 2kg pasta wheat,2litres of oil, 1 roll of Tomatoes paste, half crate of Egg, Malt and Salt.
In FCT, Palliatives distributed was 5kg of Rice, 5kg of Beans ,2kg pieces of Maggi, 3 sachets of Groundnut oil, 5 pieces of Noodles,2 pieces of Washing soaps ,1 roll of Milk,1 roll of Milo, 1 roll of Tomato paste , Sanitaries.
In Kaduna , Rice, Millet, Beans, Maggi , Salt, Noodles, Vegetable oil, Milk and washing soap was distributed.
Also, in Akwa-Ibom, 15kg of Rice, 1 carton of Noodles , 5kg bags of Beans and Vegetable oil was also distributed.
